Capital One 2011 Annual Report Download - page 152

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Capital One Financial Corporation:
We have audited Capital One Financial Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2011, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). Capital One
Financial Corporation’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial
reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the
accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to
express an opinion on the company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit
included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material
weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the
assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe
that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in
accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial
reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable
detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide
reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in
accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the
company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company;
and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or
disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect
misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that
controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the
policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, Capital One Financial Corporation maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control
over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States), the consolidated balance sheets of Capital One Financial Corporation as of December 31, 2011
and 2010, and the related consolidated statements of income, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for
each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011 of Capital One Financial Corporation and our
report dated February 28, 2012 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
McLean, Virginia
February 28, 2012
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